UAE Plans to use Iceberg to Provide Clean Water

DUBAI- The National Advisor Bureau, headquartered in Masdar City, Abu-Dhabi, plans to source the massive blocks of ice from Heard Island, around 600 miles (1000 kilometres) off the coast of mainland Antarctica.

It will then transport them around 5,500 miles (8,800 km) to Fujairah, one of the seven emirates which make up the UAE.

One iceberg could provide enough for one million people over five years, according to the company.

And the scheme could begin as early as the start of 2018.

The firm’s director says they have already travelled the transportation route and used simulators to check the feasibility of the scheme, according to reports in Gulf News.

Speaking to the site about what he is calling the UAE Iceberg Project, Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi said: ‘Our simulator predicts that it will take up to one year [to tow an iceberg to UAE].

‘We have formulated the technical and financial plan. Towing is the best method. We will start the project in beginning of 2018.

‘We want it mainly for the water. It could also be good for tourism and the weather.’

The UAE is one of the most arid countries and one of the top 10 most water-scarce in the world, due to its extremely arid climate, which receives less than four inches (100 mm) of rainfall per year.

Despite that, it consumes more water than double the global national average putting the country at severe risk of droughts over the next 25 years.